Meet Narendra Modi's 'wife'

The woman, whom BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi finally acknowledged to be his wife, said he withdrew from the relationship as he got busy working with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

Jashodaben, a 62-year-old retired schoolteacher, had told Indian Express in a February 1, 2014 interview that there had been no communication from Modi after the initial three years of their marriage.

"We have never been in touch and we parted on good terms as there were never any fights between us. I will not make up things that are not true. In three years, we may have been together for all of three months. There has been no communication from his end to this day," she told the paper.

Narendra Modi had in an affidavit filed before the Election Commission in Vadodara on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that he is married and that his wife's name is indeed Jashodaben.

His wife claimed she was married to Modi when she was 17-year-old and that she now spends much of her time in spiritual quest.

"I had quit studies once I went to his place and remember him saying he wanted me to pursue my education. He would mostly talk to me about completing my education. Initially he took interest in talking to me and even in the affairs of the kitchen," she said.

Asked if she felt slighted that Modi had not acknowledged her status as his wife, she had replied, "No. I don’t feel bad, because I know that he is doing so due to destiny and bad times. In such situations he has to say such things and also has to lie. I don’t see my situation as being bad because I feel, in a way, my luck has improved too."

The 62-year-old also expressed the confidence that Modi would become the Prime Minister one day.

In a separate story, Open Magazine had quoted people close to her saying that she was married to Modi in his native village, Vadnagar, in Mehsana district. Jashodaben having studied only up to Class VII was said to have put a strain on their marriage.

A few days after their wedding Jashodaben was sent back to her father Chimanlal’s house to complete her education. She went on to clear the SSC (old pattern) in 1972 and a primary teachers’ course.

"I will not say anything against my husband. He is very powerful. I am afraid of the consequences," Open Magazine had quoted Jashodaben as saying in their profile.